Improvement in toy targets



UNITED STATES JOSEPH POZNANSKI,

on NEW YORK, N. Y. I

IMPROVEM ENT IN TOY TARGETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 169,580, dated November2, 1875; application filed September 15, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH POZNANSKI, of New York, in the county andState of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Toy Targets;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same. l

The object of my invention is to combine amusement with instruction, tofoster a spirit of patriotism, and to encourage habits of economy; andto this end the invention consists in a novel construction of thetarget, and in certain details of arrangement and combination of devicesoperating in connection therewith, for placing and displacing a flag orflags, for operating a rotating disk or tablet containing a series ofinscriptions, and for securing in a bank or receptacle coins used asprojectiles and discharged at the target from a toy gun or pistol.

The target may be made to represent a fort, castle, or other building,or may be of any other suitable design. In the bulls-eye is. an openinglarge enough to admit the passage of a coin or a missile ofcorresponding size.- On the rear side of this opening is a swingingdoor, communicating with a hammer for striking a gong, and alsocommunicating with a device for locking and releasing an oscillatingflag-staff, connected by a pawl and ratchet or other mechanism with arotating disk or tablet containing a series of inscriptions or legends,so that when the swinging door is forced inward it operates upon thehammer to sound the bell, and also operates upon the locking device, soas to release a flag-stafl and cause it to assume-a vertical positionand display a flag above the top of the target, and at the same timetorotate thetablet and cause one of the legends or inscriptions to bedisplayed through an openingin the target. The space behind the target,in which the mechanism is inclosed, constitutes or communicates with abank or receptacle for money, and is provided with a guard forpreventing the abstraction of coins, which may be used as projectilesand discharged at the target to operate the mechanism, as described. I i

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains tomore fully under stand the same, I will proceed to describe in detailone modeof carrying out the invention, having reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a front view of a targetconstructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectiontaken in the line no .r of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section takeninthe line y y of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view, and Fig. 5 is avertical section taken in the line 2 z of Fig. 4.

The mechanism is inclosed in a box or casing A, which may be made of anysuitable material, The front or face B forms the target proper, and maybe made to represent a portion of the wall of a fort or other building.

The bulls-eye of the target consists of an' opening, b, somewhat largerthan the diameter of the coins in common use. 0n the rear. side of theopening I) is a door,,D, which is hinged or pivoted by its upper edge tothe inner side of the face B, above the top of the opening I), so as tocover said opening when hanging vertically, but be allowed to swingtoward the interior of the casing A. A lever, G, is pivoted to a lug orprojection on the inner side of the face B, so as to oscillatetoward'the face and back of the casing. Theupper or short arm of thelever is provided with a hook or catch, a, and is furnished with aspring, 0", having a tendency to press it toward the back of the casing.The lower or long arm of the lever extends downward and toward thecenter, and its end comes nearly or quite in contact with the 'rear'side of the door D, so that said door cannot be pushed very far inwardwithout oscillating the lever.

Above the -door D is pivoted, in suitable bearings, a plate, E, havingtwo arms, forming a right angle. To these arms are attached flag-staffse 6 carrying flags f f which may represent different national ensigns.A'weight, G, is suspended by a link, 9, from the plate E, in such amanner as to hold one of the flagstafl's in an upright position. In theupper portion of the casing A is a slot, to, which extends theentirelength of the top of the casing, and partly down the two oppositesides,

and the flag-staffs work in said slot when the plate E is oscillated. v

The mechanism above described operates as follows: The flagstaft e isdepressed to a horizontal position until it engages with the hook c ofthe spring latch or lever U, which holds it in such position, withtheflag-staffe in an upright position, as shown in Fig. 4. When the doorD is pressed inward it bears against the long arm of the locking-leverO, and oscillates it, so as to cause the book 0 to release thefiag-staife whereupon the action of the weight G upon the plate Eelevates. the flag-staff to an upright position, and depresses theflagstaff 6 to a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 3.

In this manner ,much amusement may be afforded to young persons byrepresenting the striking of one flag and the raising of another in itsstead above the walls of a fort or castle.

.Whenoneof the flag-staffs is in an upright position-the other isconcealed from view in the slot at, as shown in Fig. 3. If desired, the

'flag-staffi e may be omitted, in which case no flag will be. displayeduntil the staff 0 is re- 15 leased from. the locking device. I

' On the rear sideofthe target-B, above the bulls-e'ye b, is arotatingshaft, I, having its;

beari'n-gsin-a frame, '5, of any suitableconstruction. The front end ofthis shaft carries.

a disk 'or tablet, L, the front surface or face of which is-diwided intoa'number of spaces, of

"sector. shape or other suitableform, correspondingtwith that of anopening, J, in the. target Bt The periphery of the disk L isprovidedwithratchet-like shoulders l, for en gage *ment with api votedpawl, K, so that it"can. 1 rotatein one direction only. The shaft Iisconnected with the plate E by any suitable means .which will allow theshaft to rotate simultaneously with the oscillation of the flag-vstaffginone direction, but prevent its rotationg -llI-l3l16. opposite.direction. 'As shown herein, theshaft-I is provided with anordinary pawland-ratchet mechanism, the ratchet m being,

#fast on the shaft I, and the pawl n being car- =ried by-a loose plate,M, from which a stud, 1),, -pro jects,andz worksin a-slot, s, in thelink g,

which carries theweight Gr. I v When-the flag-staff e is depressed to belocked in. ahor'izont'al position by the latch on ler'erO, the pawlnslips over the ratchet m,

.and'thedisk Lfiis held stationary bythe engagement'ofxthe pivoted pawlK with one of the.shoulders l. When the flag-staff e is releasedbythelockingidevice, and is raised by theaction of the weight G to an uprightposiltion, the. pawl it remains iengaged w-ith the ratchet m, and by theconnection of the slotted link. gandplate M-the shaft I is caused torotate-until the pawl K drops into another of 'the shoulders .l, topreventthe backward movementof. the disk.

- p In eachof the sector-shaped spaces or divisions-of the face ofthedisk L is an inscription or legend ofa patriotic or othersuitablechari acter-suchas, for example, a recordof some event inv thehistory of'the'natiom As the disk is rotated, as above described, theseinscriptions are successively brought into positionfordisplaying-themthrough the opening J, as shown in Fig. 1, in. which a legend-is,rep-'resented as displayed through the opening immediately under flagf Inaddition to the devices above described, the apparatus may be providedwith a bell or gong, El, and a swinging hammer or striker, h, arrangedimmediately behind the door D, so that when the door is forced inwardand opcrates upon the lever C, it will also strike the hammer h andcause it to sound the bell.

As this invention is intended to be used as a toy bank or money-box,provision is made forthe'reception and'retention of coins discharged atthe target from a toy gun or pistol. The lower portion of the interiorof the casing A forms a chamber, S, which may itself constitute, or maycommunicate with, the receptacle for the money. This chamber is'providedwith a guard, consisting of inclined planes R, extending from either orany of the sides,'so as to form a hopper, through the open bottom ofwhich the coins drop as they are discharged into the target, and fallinto the [chamber S, and their abstractionfrom the chamber iseffectually prevented by having one of the inclines extend somewhatlower than the other, and under the same. The coins may be placed in theopeningb, or in front-of the bulls-eye, and be driven into thereceptacle by a projectile discharged at it, or in any suitable manner;or the coins themselves may be used as projectiles, and'bedischarged atthe. target from a toy gun or-pistol of any suitable description, andoperated in any suitable manner.

In order to produce a complete apparatus, I have provided a device fordischarging the coins at the target; which device consists of a tube, T,provided with trunnionS, and mounted on a frame or carriage, U, torepresent a miniature'cannon. The tube is provided-with apiston attachedtoa sliding rod, 4;, surrounded by a spiral spring, and with a trigger,w, for holding the piston when the rod 4) is drawn back and the springcompressed. The gun-being properly sighted, it is loaded by dropping acoin through a slot, t, near the breech of the gun. The trigger to isthen depressed, whereupon the sudden expansion of the spring drives thepiston forward and discharges the coin at the target.

In an apparatus constructed as herein described, the entire operation isas follows The flag-staff e is first depressed and locked. in ahorizontal position, so as to bring the staff-"-e to an uprightposition, and display the flagf above the top of the target. The c'oinis then discharged from the gun, and, entering the 1am a the inclinesRinto the chamber S. The chamber S may be provided with a door, s, forremoving the money when desired.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-'- 1. Atoy target provided with a money-receptacle, into which coins can bedeposited through the bulls-eye, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the open bulls-eye b, the swinging door D, thelocking and releasing lever and catch O '0, andthe oscillatingflag-staff e or 6 arranged to operate as herein shown and described,

3. The combination, with an open bulls-eye and a movable door, of arotating disk or tab let, substantially as herein described.

4. The combination, with the bulls-eye and movable door, of inclines orguards forming a money safe or receptacle, substantially as and for thepurpose herein described.

JOS. POZNANSKI.

Witnesses HENRY T. BROWN, MICHAEL RYAN.

